EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday harshly criticized Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's remarks on the Palestinian people and urged the Israeli government to disavow these comments
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st March, 2023) EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday harshly criticized Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's remarks on the Palestinian people and urged the Israeli government to disavow these comments.
On Sunday, Smotrich, who is also the leader of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, said that "there is no such thing as a Palestinian people" during his visit to France.
"The comments of the minister Smotrich go once again in the opposite direction (of the EU policy), they certainly cannot be tolerated. And I call on the Israeli government to disavow those comments and to start working together with all parties to defuse tensions," Borrell said.
The EU foreign policy chief further condemned the comments as "wrong, disrespectful, dangerous and counterproductive." Borrell noted that the EU will continue working on resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of peaceful coexistence between the two states. In particular, the EU will promote the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, he added.
Earlier in the day, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry summoned Israeli Ambassador as Smotrich was speaking in front of a map that depicted Jordan and the West Bank as part of Israel.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry, in turn, called the statement by the Israeli finance minister provocative and irresponsible. Meanwhile, US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said that the State Department had not yet read Smotrich's statement.
Previously, Smotrich made similar harsh remarks towards Palestinians. In late February, two Israelis were shot dead by an alleged Palestinian terrorist in the city of Huwara. Following the attack, Smotrich said that Israel should wipe this Palestinian city from the face of the earth.
